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Identify air transport infrastructure needs
By 2020, 60 of Europe’s major airports will be totally congested. Investment is urgently required in air transport infrastructure, and an integrated approach to other modes of transport, in particular the railway sector. Air transportation infrastructure should be placed on equal terms with other vital infrastructure projects, especially as regards EU funding, such as the Trans-European Networks programme. Ensuring that passengers travelling on a high speed train can conveniently connect to long distance flights is in the interests of the travelling public; reducing choice by imposing one mode of transport over the other is not.
Neither should the needs of air cargo infrastructure be overlooked. As a round-the-clock activity, air cargo can contribute substantially to the efficient use of scarce infrastructure resources, in a balanced approach which reconciles the needs of an airport’s neighbours with the range of measures available to the airlines, airports and local authorities to mitigate the impact of an airport on its neighbours.
AEA calls upon the EU institutions to expedite infrastructure investment procedures, develop a level playing field between airlines and airports throughout Europe, and promote co-operation between the modes of transport.